Archive for October 2009

Check out the November issue of In Style magazine for some great party shots of Melrose Place stars Katie Cassidy, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and newcomer Jenna Dewan, who plays movie executive Kendra (and happens to be Mrs. Channing Tatum). The Melrose sirens posed prettily at In Style’s L.A. Soiree at the London West Hollywood Hotel. Here’s a scan of the shots, which appear on page 72. Enjoy!

Will Violet drive off a cliff with Auggie when they depart Melrose Place?

TV Guide.com broke the news that Melrose Place will see the departure of Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield in January. This news is a mixed bag depending on how you look at it. Ashlee definitely was a polarizing presence on the show. Her less than stellar acting sparked much online grousing and the fact she was playing a clearly disturbed character didn’t help matters. I attribute the controversy to her monotone line readings, seemingly delivered flatly to convey an underlying case of the crazypants. She has her fans, to be sure, but her detractors are louder. Guys like her painted-on clothes and bad-girl pout while her female supporters relate to her quirky girl vibe. You know what I mean. She’s kind of pretty, but not quite the belle of the ball. This actually works in her favor and makes her seem accessible. Still, it looks like Violet’s storyline will come to a close after the holidays and Auggie may be collateral damage in the process. So far, Colin Egglesfield has been underused in the role. He has a fan base from the daytime soap “All My Children,” and online chatter indicates he’s a heartthrob in the making. Like Jake (Grant Show) on the original Melrose, Auggie is a regular hunk who has yet to reveal all his layers. I think Melrose producers need to give him more shirtless scenes and pair him with Amanda Woodward when Heather Locklear arrives in November. It is the year of the TV cougar after all and it would be a waste of a perfectly good hunk to kill him off as part of Violet’s send off. TV Guide’s good news is that Billy Campbell has been cast as Amanda’s love interest and, in the best news by far, Heather is slated to appear on all the remaining Melrose episodes of the season. Let the games begin!

Riley's first day as a model didn't run smoothly despite Ella's uncharacteristic support.

Flirting with Disaster

There were enough love triangles forming on the October 20 episode to give one a case of vertigo. The day started on a positive note with Melrose lovebirds Riley and Jonah anticipating major career breaks. Jonah’s meeting with a famous movie director at Paramount Studios gets bumpy when the auteur changes practically the entire concept of Jonah’s short film. Disaster was averted when he met the director’s bespectacled development executive Kendra, who liked his film just the way it was and invited him to a friendly drink. Jonah gently turns her down despite her flirtatious removal of her brainy glasses. Does Ella have a new rival to worry about?

Will a hurt Jonah (Michael Rady) cheat on Riley with the sexy film exec Kendra?

Riley’s first day working as a jeans model for Ella’s client Anton V didn’t run smoothly. She was star struck upon meeting famous photographer (and former Melrose resident) Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga), being familiar with Jo’s moving photographs of starving children in Africa. Jo was less impressed by Riley’s stiff, amateurish posing. Fans expecting the famously caring Jo of the old Melrose were probably disappointed, at first, to find a jaded shutterbug show up in her place. Ella, working a Joan Collins-inspired fashion statement, stepped in to defend Riley, for once, berating Jo for pushing the newbie too hard. Her support was short-lived, however, when Riley cracked under the pressure of Jo’s jarring coaxing to free her inner temptress and stormed off the set. Jo later stopped by the Melrose courtyard to admit that she, like Riley, wasn’t being true to herself by shooting shallow fashion spreads and was flying off to document the hunger epidemic in Latin America. Riley likewise confided that Jo had opened her eyes to some suppressed desires. Could those desires include Auggie (Colin Egglesfield)? Sharing a cup of tea with the Augster to vent over her failed photo shoot — to a brooding Violet’s chagrin — didn’t go over well with Jonah, who learned from Auggie that Riley had smooched him under the influence of wine. Jonah blows up at Auggie and Riley. Auggie cools off by helping Violet assemble her new bed, which is a sign of things to come, she hopes. Taking a walk to cool off, Jonah meets movie-producer-chick Kendra for drinks after all. At least Riley still has the Anton V gig.

The impending return of Heather Locklear to Melrose Place as Amanda has gotten the lion’s share of coverage in recent days, but there’s another Melrose veteran visiting this week to help the youngsters work through their drama. Daphne Zuniga, the dark-haired beauty who played New York photographer Jo Reynolds, appears on Tuesday’s episode as part of Riley’s new modeling storyline. Jo arrives to shoot the Anton V campaign and will no doubt give Riley some helpful advice as she navigates the world of high fashion. Riley (Jessica Lucas) isn’t very comfortable slipping into the role of sexy mannequin, despite her va-va-voom curves and exotic beauty. She’s under a lot of pressure with Jonah having financial trouble and her nagging attraction to Auggie (Colin Egglesfield). Jo, who played a maternal role of sorts among her wreckless neighbors back in the ’90s, has a habit of looking after models. When the Melrose producers attempted a spinoff about models called Models Inc., Jo made a crossover appearance to help one of the troubled models being tormented by an abusive boyfriend. On Melrose she also tried to offer Sydney a friendly ear when she was secretly working as a call girl. Here’s a great clip from YouTube that shows one such scene where Jo attempts to get a very young Sydney to come clean. Notice how much Syd looks like Violet, not to mention that she wasn’t as lucky as Lauren in getting handsome johns. Thanks to karygirl82isback for posting the great footage. Jo’s return may not have the fireworks Amanda will surely bring, but it will be good to see her again. She was one of the good ones.

The residents of Melrose Place were brought together by money problems. Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen) and David (Shaun Sipos), in fact, got a little too close for comfort when he showed up at a yacht party where she was entertaining as part of Madam Wendy’s hooker harem. Luckily for Lauren one of the other working girls took a liking to her and distracted David, giving Lauren the chance to jump ship before he could spot her. Ditching her Versace knockoff, Lauren came upon a bruised and battered David back at the complex after he’d been beaten to a pulp by the goons of a big fence who wanted him to swipe some Egyptian artwork. Lauren takes him to the hospital for emergency treatment and Michael (Thomas Calabro) orders her to keep an eye on him. David, like Lauren, is swimming in dangerous waters and it’s bringing them closer. Will the hooker and the thief be Melrose’s new twosome? Life is destined to get a lot more interesting for Riley, much to Ella’s dismay, after WPK client Anton V insists that she become the face of his new eco-friendly denim line. Riley (Jessica Lucas) turns the offer down at first, citing her dedication to her first-grade teaching job, but later realizes that $10,000 for five days work can come in handy when she discovers Jonah trying to sell his video camera to raise rent money. Jonah is touched by her support. Ella could just wretch at their cooing and Jacob (Victor Webster) lands a dinner date with a pleased Anton, who announces a sudden craving for steak tartar… as in raw beef.

Violet set up the lecherous Dr. Michael Mancini. Sydney would be proud.

Playing the Doctor

Violet (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz) is in the mood for meat as well. While Auggie takes a much-deserved break from her stalking by going on a trip, she creeps around his pad and finds a note from Sydney sharing with the Augster how Dr. Michael made her life miserable for so many years. Quickly figuring out that Michael’s vulnerable spot lies below his belt, Violet downs a six-pack of what looks like Red Bull and shows up at the hospital dressed in hot pants, a cute hat and a serious case of heart palpitations. Michael’s heart starts racing too, given his well-documented weakness for doe-eyed bimbos. Violet miraculously recovers when he suggests conducting some tests and offers to give him a free drink at Coal. He of course takes her up on the offer and ends up pretty tipsy, making him easy prey for the red-haired nymphet, who shows up later at his mansion with videotaped evidence of their backseat exam in his car. Threatening to show the iPhone eyeful to his Amazonian wife, a vengeful Violet demonstrates to Michael that she may indeed be her mother’s daughter after all.

TV Guide got the dish on how producers of the new Melrose Place convinced Heather Lockear to return to her role as Amanda Woodward beginning in November. Unlike Laura Leighton, whose reprise of Sydney is played out in flashbacks, Amanda is going to be very much alive and ready to stir the pot, especially as it relates to Melrose’s new bad girl, Ella. Amanda dumped Dr. Peter Burns and his island (where the two had escaped to when the original show folded in 1999) and jumped from advertising to public relations in New York City. When Ms. Woodward shows up in L.A. it’s as Ella’s new boss. Does this mean WPK’s hunky honcho Caleb (Victor Webster) gets his walking papers? Hopefully not. Amanda always liked having a few good men under her well manicured thumbnail and she never minded if they were gay or straight, although we all know the straight ones provide her more perks.

Here’s a scan of TV Guide’s story on Operation Get Heather Back, which they made all the better by running side by side shots of Heather in her trademark miniskirts from 1993 and the present. Looks like Amanda’s still got it!

TV Guide can’t get enough of “Melrose Place” star Katie Cassidy, who plays the show’s deliciously ambitious publicist Ella Simms. Less than one month after getting a “Cheer” from the magazine’s Cheers & Jeers section for her outrageous performance, Katie got a full-page close-up, appropriately enough, as a “Scene Stealer” in the October 5-11 issue. The Melrose 2.0 bombshell will get a juicy opportunity to test her scene-stealing talents in November when original Melrose diva Heather Locklear arrives to reprise her classic role of Amanda Woodward. Expect a clash of titans. In the meantime, here’s a scan of a leggy Katie lookin’ mighty fine.